The present invention relates to a silver halide camera equipped with an electronic viewfinder to confirm a photographed image.
Common cameras (hereinafter, called silver halide camera) to take a picture on silver halide film, are structured such that each camera is equipped with an optical viewfinder, through which a photographing object is confirmed.
In such a silver halide camera, unlike a video camera or a digital camera, there is a problem that an actually photographed image can not be confirmed just after picture-taking.
For such the confirmation, it is considered that the silver halide camera is equipped with an electronic viewfinder composed of a solid state image sensor (CCD, or the like) and an display device (LCD, or the like), which displays an image picked up by the solid state image sensor as a dynamic image before picture-taking, and as a static image just after the picture-taking.
When the electronic viewfinder is equipped on the silver halide camera, it is considered that a little smaller electronic viewfinder is equipped to the silver halide camera so that the size is reduced, in which the electronic viewfinder is an indirect-vision type electronic viewfinder of a type, looked through an optical system such as a lens, or the like, in the same manner as in the case of conventional optical viewfinder. However, because a sharp image is required for the viewfinder for the photograph, a small-sized and highly accurate electronic viewfinder is necessary in this type of indirect-vision type electronic viewfinder, resulting in an increase of cost, which is a problem. Further, there is also a problem that it is too small to look through.
Accordingly, a structure is considered in which the electronic viewfinder is made a little larger so as to be easily looked at, and it is provided separately from the silver halide camera. However, in such the structure, carrying is inconvenient.
An object of the present invention is to obtain a silver halide camera which can be easily carried, and is equipped with an electronic viewfinder which can be easily looked at.
As the result of a diligent investigation, the inventor of the present invention has found that, when an image display section of a direct-vision type electronic view finder is equipped on the back surface of the main body of the silver halide camera, the silver halide camera which can be easily carried, and is equipped with an electronic viewfinder which can be easily looked at, can be obtained. Thereby, in also the silver halide camera, the actually photographed image can be more easily identified just after picture-taking.
However, in the camera in which a rear cover of the back surface of the main body is opened for film loading, when an image display section of the direct-vision type electronic viewfinder is equipped on the back surface of the silver halide camera, the whole of image LCD including a back light is required to move integrally with the rear cover, and thereby, there is a problem that mechanisms are complicated.
Further, the ratio of a length to width (an aspect ratio) of the image to be recorded on the film is different from that of the image LCD. Further, there are a plurality of types of images to be recorded on the film.
For example, the film, called IX-240, has s hatched recording area as shown in FIG. 8, and has a ratio of the length 9 to width 16.
The whole of the recording area having a ratio of 9:16 is used for recording, however, there are cases in which an image of the hatched area portion (9:16) in FIG. 8(a) is printed (H-type), an image of the hatched area portion (2:3) in FIG. 8(b) is printed (C-type), or an image of the hatched area portion (1:3) in FIG. 8(c) is printed (P-type).
Further, when such the designation is conducted at the time of picture-taking, the display in the optical viewfinder is as shown in FIG. 9(a) in the H-type, as shown in FIG. 9(b) in the C-type, and as shown in FIG. 9(c) in the P-type, and the hatched portion is covered by a light-shielding member or a liquid crystal shutter.
In the above cases, when a displaying area of the image LCD (the length 3: the width 4) is adjusted to the maximum area of one frame of the film to display an image, it is as shown by a double hatched portion in FIG. 10(a) in the H-type, and as shown by a double hatched portion in FIG. 10(c) in the P-type.
As the result, an entirely unused area exists in an upper and a lower portions of the image LCD, in any case of display of the H-type, C-type and P-type, and a useless area is produced in the displaying area of the image LCD.
Further, in common electronic viewfinders, an iris diaphragm is not provided, and the exposure control is conducted by an electronic shutter for the CCD. Therefore, the shutter speed of the electronic shutter for the CCD is different from that of the silver halide camera side.
Accordingly, the method of use in which an object is photographed at the same shutter speed on the silver halide film side as the shutter speed for the CCD side and a condition of the photographed image of an object moving at a high speed is confirmed, or a condition of the blurred image is confirmed, is not allowable.
Further, in the silver halide film, there are several film sensitivity (ISO 25, 50, 64, 100, 200, 400, . . . ), and when the film sensitivity is greatly different from the CCD sensitivity, the difference between both shutter speeds becomes greater.
In this connection, the diaphragm mechanism can also be provided on the CCD side, however, in that case, in the CCD whose light receiving area is smaller than that of the silver halide film, it is necessary to increase the accuracy corresponding to the reduced area.
Further, in order to absorb the difference of sensitivity of the silver halide film, a diaphragm mechanism having an aperture value variable range broader than that of the silver halide film side, is necessary. Therefore, the diaphragm device on the CCD side becomes greatly expensive, and becomes large-sized, which is a problem.
Further, the electronic viewfinder consumes a large amount of electric power for CCD driving and LCD driving, which is disadvantageous.
Further, a large current is necessary when the image display of the electronic viewfinder, and shutter driving and lens driving for picture-taking on the silver halide camera side, are simultaneously conducted, and therefore, the power supply voltage is the more lowered. Thereby, the electric power can not be sufficiently supplied from the power source to each circuit, so that sometimes a normal operation can not be conducted.
Further, because image picking-up is continued even while the operator does not specifically need it, useless electric power is consumed, thereby, a problem occurs in which an available working time is shortened.